Deadly earthquake, plane crash strike Indonesia

[General Duke]

Deadly earthquake, plane crash strike Indonesia

 

By ZAKKI HAKIM

and CHRIS BRUMMITT

Associated Press Writers

Wednesday, March 07, 2007

 

SOLOK and JAKARTA, Indonesia — A jetliner carrying more than 130 passengers and crew caught fire Wednesday as it landed on Indonesia’s Java island, trapping a number of people inside the burning plane, the airline and witnesses said. An airport official reported that 20 people are confirmed dead.

 

Some passengers escaped and rescuers battled flames to reach those still on the Boeing 737-400, said Capt. Ari Sapari, operations director of national carrier Garuda.

 

“It caught alight when it landed,” said Sapari. He didn’t provide any other details. The cause of the accident was unclear, but at least one passenger said the jetliner had overshot the runway.

 

Metro TV said that 133 people were listed on the plane’s manifest.

 

“We overshot the runway, then I heard the sound of an explosion and ran through an emergency exit,” said passenger Muhammad Dimyati. “I believe many passengers remained trapped on board.”

 

The crash comes a day after a powerful earthquake jolted western Indonesia on Tuesday, killing at least 70 people and injuring hundreds as they fled shaking hotels, homes and hospitals. Two children were crushed by debris on a playground.

 

The 6.3-magnitude quake struck Sumatra island just before 11 a.m. and was felt as far away as Malaysia and Singapore. Several aftershocks followed, the strongest measuring 6.1, adding to fears of people already too nervous to return indoors.

 

“Women were crying out in terror. We all just fled as quickly as we could,” said Alpion, a welder who joined thousands of others running to higher ground, fearing a tsunami that never came.

 

Indonesia straddles one of the world’s most seismically active zones and has been hit by a string of natural disasters in recent years, the most deadly being the 2004 Asian tsunami that killed 160,000 people on Sumatra’s northern tip.

 

At least 70 people were killed by Tuesday’s quake, Cabinet Secretary Sudi Silalahi told reporters in the capital, Jakarta.

 

The hardest-hit area appeared to be the bustling town of Solok, where two children were killed when a two-story building collapsed on the school playground, said police spokesman Supriadi, who like many Indonesians uses only one name. In addition, three members of one family were burned alive when their collapsed home burst into flames.

 

Government spokesman Hasrul Piliang said the number of dead “would likely rise” because tallies from remote areas were still being collected.